We're looking for some new Subnautica Playtesters!

ObraxisObraxis Subnautica Animator & Generalist, NS2 Person Join Date: 2004-07-24 Member: 30071Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Silver, WC 2013 - Supporter, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts
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We're looking for some new Subnautica Volunteer Playtesters! :smiley:

Successful applicants get to help squash bugs, talk to devs, complain about framerate in-person & give suggestions to help us finish the game. Not to mention learning secrets before anyone else!

Apply here: tinyurl.com/subnautica-pt

Don't forget to join the Discord community here: discord.gg/0TYSaqpNv6wffpB1
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Comments

  • GreybeardGreybeard USA Join Date: 2016-09-24 Member: 222538Members
    Pay me $5 an hour and I'll play it 8+ hours a day for you! That's less than minimum wage. I don't need benefits, or a 401k. I'll even test on sick days. No paid vacation days is fine. BUT, I draw the line at free. I like Subnautica and all, but I also like Burger King, and I'm not going to work there for free to help them out. More humor than snark is intended here, but also, the trend of the game Industry basically making everyone beta testers doesn't settle well with me. The lack of quality assurance has been evident over the last decade. Do companies simply not play test enough, or not hire enough play testers? I don't know. Can't your team afford to hire one dedicated, qualified guy/gal to play the heck out of it? I'm thinking of developing a game, any devs out there want to create the game for me for free?
  • crimsontwilightcrimsontwilight England Join Date: 2014-03-30 Member: 195051Members
    edited November 2016
    I understand where you're coming from, but politely disagree. The thing is the devs have access to a pool of very committed, loyal and (often) helpful fans, to whom making the game better is all the payment they need. Therefore it doesn't really make sense for the devs to pay to get (potentially) less committed people to help - supply and demand and all that jazz.

    The only issue I can see it creating is that people may overlook faults with the game, just because they love it, but the community here seems to be able to give and take criticism better than many fanbases, so I'm not too worried about that.

    I suppose the proof will be in the pudding.
  • dealwithitdogdealwithitdog Texas Join Date: 2016-06-09 Member: 218343Members
    I understand where you're coming from, but politely disagree. The thing is the devs have access to a pool of very committed, loyal and (often) helpful fans, to whom making the game better is all the payment they need. Therefore it doesn't really make sense for the devs to pay to get (potentially) less committed people to help - supply and demand and all that jazz.

    Exactly this. I'd love to playtest just for the chance to get more involved with the game. I don't need anything else, especially not money.
  • jpinardjpinard Join Date: 2016-09-17 Member: 222373Members
    edited November 2016
    I sent you my application. Filled out all the little extras too :) Kind of wondered if this comment was directed right at my whiny behind :smile: LOL

    "complain about framerate in-person"
  • ThosarThosar Join Date: 2016-08-14 Member: 221302Members
    I thought we were all already playtesting...
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    Thosar wrote: »
    I thought we were all already playtesting...

    There's a difference between playing and reporting bugs when you see them, and playing with the purpose of finding things that could go wrong.

    Basically the difference between 'see something, say something' and 'looking for trouble'
  • MaxAmusMaxAmus UK Join Date: 2003-12-26 Member: 24779Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow
    Play "Testing" is not just about playing the game,

    You may have a list of bugs / fixes that need to be tested, You will spend a lot of time replicating bugs, and reporting back, Play testing is amazing, as you get to be apart of the games development process, no play testers would mean a lot less time for Dev's to spend on implanting new and exciting features. - and this is just a little tiny bit of the puzzle.
  • jpinardjpinard Join Date: 2016-09-17 Member: 222373Members
    edited November 2016
    Having dedicated "staff" to work out certain pieces can really speed development. When you have a rapport with people, know their capabilities and feedback is 100% on it can greatly accelerate the process. Instead of getting just general "this sucks or doesn't work".

    Here's how I would hope they'd use my expertise from some past development gigs. They make a change to x, send out temp build and say "What did this do to performance". I report back with x framerates over x time, with a man/min and average of x, and latency/lag spikes of x. It is a definite improvement/no change/worse. Right now its just throw out mostly stable update and people give general impressions. While that aggregate data is nice, it doesn't provide much detail nor flexibility for the developer. The other piece is having people who know development and code so when ideas or solutions are presented they know they're not wasting the teams time since it will be in scope of what is actually possible.
  • Julian1337331nailuJJulian1337331nailuJ The Grand Reef Gubtorial Election Or Something. Join Date: 2016-11-12 Member: 223824Members
    As Long As There Is Good Content And I Get Payed 4 Dollars A Day I Will Play Test The Game.
  • SkopeSkope Wouldn't you like to know ;) Join Date: 2016-06-07 Member: 218212Members
    As Long As There Is Good Content And I Get Payed 4 Dollars A Day I Will Play Test The Game.

    Sorry, no pay for playtesting.
  • ThosarThosar Join Date: 2016-08-14 Member: 221302Members
    0x6A7232 wrote: »
    Thosar wrote: »
    I thought we were all already playtesting...

    There's a difference between playing and reporting bugs when you see them, and playing with the purpose of finding things that could go wrong.

    Basically the difference between 'see something, say something' and 'looking for trouble'

    I thought we were already playtesting... You guys don't go looking to break the game?
  • ThosarThosar Join Date: 2016-08-14 Member: 221302Members
    Sorry I had to. But yes, I get the difference.
  • FluffersFluffers United States Join Date: 2015-05-22 Member: 204749Members
    I'd just like to do it for free, I don't know who on earth thinks their ability to play a video game warrants them getting paid
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    Thosar wrote: »
    0x6A7232 wrote: »
    Thosar wrote: »
    I thought we were all already playtesting...

    There's a difference between playing and reporting bugs when you see them, and playing with the purpose of finding things that could go wrong.

    Basically the difference between 'see something, say something' and 'looking for trouble'

    I thought we were already playtesting... You guys don't go looking to break the game?

    Some of us do.
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    Fluffers wrote: »
    I'd just like to do it for free, I don't know who on earth thinks their ability to play a video game warrants them getting paid

    If you're actually playtesting and not just reporting bugs as you come across them / if you feel like it, the game probably stops being as enjoyable and perhaps even an outright chore, I would guess.
  • RalijRalij US Join Date: 2016-05-20 Member: 217092Members
    Chore is an understatement. I'll pass, I want to still like subnautica when it releases. Best of luck to those who are applying.
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    Alright, for anyone thinking about this, I actually looked at the application, and encourage everyone who might be interested in helping Subnautica succeed to do the same --

    They don't have a requirement for hours available, you just fill in what you would be able to do. So if you already play say 10 hours a week, why not devote a quarter or half of that to playtesting?

    Just food for thought. :)
  • EnglishInfidelEnglishInfidel Canada Join Date: 2016-07-04 Member: 219533Members
    Greybeard wrote: »
    Pay me $5 an hour and I'll play it 8+ hours a day for you! That's less than minimum wage. I don't need benefits, or a 401k. I'll even test on sick days. No paid vacation days is fine. BUT, I draw the line at free. I like Subnautica and all, but I also like Burger King, and I'm not going to work there for free to help them out. More humor than snark is intended here, but also, the trend of the game Industry basically making everyone beta testers doesn't settle well with me. The lack of quality assurance has been evident over the last decade. Do companies simply not play test enough, or not hire enough play testers? I don't know. Can't your team afford to hire one dedicated, qualified guy/gal to play the heck out of it? I'm thinking of developing a game, any devs out there want to create the game for me for free?

    >Implying play-testers have ever done a good job.

    AAA games are generally way, way more buggy than indie games that have had early access.

    In fact, you could make an extremely good argument that in the last few years, with early access being so prevalent, the quality of games (at least non-AAA games) has improved at all in a general sense.
  • EvilSmooEvilSmoo Join Date: 2008-02-16 Member: 63662Members
    edited November 2016
    Wha? I guess the F8 feedback form is so buried in idiotic feedback that they mostly gave up on it?

    We already paid money into an EA title. I'd gladly try and repro specific issues. But applying for something seems like work. :p

    Oh, here's a notion: make a sticky locked thread for people to check. Post in it when you need something weird reproduced, any repro steps, and what to do with any data required, then edit each post to "done" when complete. No forum-posting spam, just dev posts for issues that internal testing is having trouble with, and such?
  • 0x6A72320x6A7232 US Join Date: 2016-10-06 Member: 222906Members
    EvilSmoo wrote: »
    Wha? I guess the F8 feedback form is so buried in idiotic feedback that they mostly gave up on it?

    We already paid money into an EA title. I'd gladly try and repro specific issues. But applying for something seems like work. :p

    It's a really simple form, would take like 2 minutes, max.

    Eh. Here:


    Subnautica Volunteer Playtester Application
    Please fill out all questions to the best of your knowledge. Your application will be reviewed and scrutinized - so please be honest.

    There is a fixed upper limit to the number of play testers admitted to the PT Groups. Your details will be kept on-file - please view our privacy policy here: http://unknownworlds.com/privacy/. If the PT group is full, you will be considered in the next round of applications.

    * = Required


    What is your full name?*


    What is your email address?*


    Please link us to your Steam profile or XboxID. Your profile cannot be private*
    http://steamcommunity.com/id/<customURL> or http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/7656119xxxxxxxxxx http://live.xbox.com/Profile?Gamertag=<Your Gamertag Here>


    What is your UWE forum username?
    This is your username on both the Subnautica and Natural Selection 2 forums


    How old are you?*
    • 13-17
    • 18-24
    • 25-30
    • 31-40
    • 40-51
    • 51+


    What country are you from?*


    What language(s) do you speak?*
    Please note that English is required


    Are you or have you beta tested any other games?


    Do you know any current UWE Playtesters?


    Do you have any programming experience?*
    • No
    • A little
    • I'm John Carmack
    • Other:


    What system do you play Subnautica on?*
    (Check all that apply)
    • XboxOne
    • Windows
    • MacOS
    This is a required question

    If you own Subnautica on PC/Mac, what operating system do you use?*
    • Windows
    • MacOS


    If you play on PC/Mac, what are your system specs? (Xbox Users please put in your Xbox Model)*
    Please keep this brief - CPU/RAM/Graphics card





    Do you have any experience with open world games?
    Minecraft, Kerbal Space Program, Terraria, etc. are all good examples




    How many hours can you devote to Playtesting UWE Games each week?*



    What do you think makes you a good candidate for being a Unknown Worlds Playtester?*



    Do you have any special skills that could be helpful in future game development?



    Is there anything else you'd like us to know?



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    EvilSmoo wrote: »
    Oh, here's a notion: make a sticky locked thread for people to check. Post in it when you need something weird reproduced, any repro steps, and what to do with any data required, then edit each post to "done" when complete. No forum-posting spam, just dev posts for issues that internal testing is having trouble with, and such?

    /me thinks that's a good idea.
  • RezcaRezca United States Join Date: 2016-04-28 Member: 216078Members
    edited November 2016
    EvilSmoo wrote: »
    Wha? I guess the F8 feedback form is so buried in idiotic feedback that they mostly gave up on it?

    We already paid money into an EA title. I'd gladly try and repro specific issues. But applying for something seems like work. :p

    Oh, here's a notion: make a sticky locked thread for people to check. Post in it when you need something weird reproduced, any repro steps, and what to do with any data required, then edit each post to "done" when complete. No forum-posting spam, just dev posts for issues that internal testing is having trouble with, and such?

    Maybe if people actually used it for submitting feedback... xD
    I took a few looks at the public list of "feedback" provided a while back and a lot of it was hilariously (or cringe-inducingly) awful and far from being feedback. This guy submitting a 3+ post long rant about how Creative Mode didn't function like Survival Mode and someone just saying "heat" while in the Active Lava Zone were two that come to mind.....


    So I'm guessing they're looking for dedicated testers who would be more likely to provide quality feedback, which even a stickied forum post wouldn't help with. You'd get the same assortment of actual feedback mixed in with nonsense. The form isn't that hard to fill out, but having an additional stickied forum post for those who can't / don't want to do the form might be a good idea. Assuming that people use it for its intended purpose and don't start complaining about mulitplayer instead ^^;
  • Soul_RiderSoul_Rider Mod Bean Join Date: 2004-06-19 Member: 29388Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
    Playtesting doesn't generally involve playing the game. It's a mis-nomer. It's a wide-ranging responsibility, trying to reproduce bugs, trying to reproduce bugs after fixes have been added, testing new objects getting implemented, sitting watching animations to make sure they are playing correctly... The list goes on.

    The vast majority of the time involves doing the same thing over and over again hundreds of times. It can certainly be fun, but the fun comes from the camaraderie, fun and banter had between the playtesters, rather than the playing of the game.
  • GreybeardGreybeard USA Join Date: 2016-09-24 Member: 222538Members
    Soul_Rider wrote: »
    The vast majority of the time involves doing the same thing over and over again hundreds of times. It can certainly be fun, but the fun comes from the camaraderie, fun and banter had between the employees-, rather than doing the same thing over and over again.

    Just about every job ever ;)

  • LightdevilLightdevil Austria Join Date: 2015-06-10 Member: 205381Members, Subnautica Playtester
    edited November 2016
    As a playtester for Subnautica, I feel honored, never would I expect money for contributing to a game. And who knows, maybe ill be in the credits?! Kappa

    Jokes aside. You're incredibly self centered if you want money for this. You contributing to something you like and enjoy and making it better actively should be payment enough.

    Also dont worry. Aslong as youre fine with getting spoiled about everything story and lorewise, playtesting subnautica doesnt make it less fun to play. I think it makes it more fun to play even. Its like cake that tastes better when you made it yourself.
  • RalijRalij US Join Date: 2016-05-20 Member: 217092Members
    It's self centered to want to be paid for work? Such innocence xD
  • RezcaRezca United States Join Date: 2016-04-28 Member: 216078Members
    edited November 2016
    Ralij wrote: »
    It's self centered to want to be paid for work? Such innocence xD

    More accurately, they're saying it's self-centered to want to be paid for something you're volunteering to do, which is the case here. They're not hiring people which would entail being paid for your time, but asking for volunteers where you're giving up your time free of charge.
  • ThosarThosar Join Date: 2016-08-14 Member: 221302Members
    Rezca wrote: »
    Ralij wrote: »
    It's self centered to want to be paid for work? Such innocence xD

    More accurately, they're saying it's self-centered to want to be paid for something you're volunteering to do, which is the case here. They're not hiring people which would entail being paid for your time, but asking for volunteers where you're giving up your time free of charge.

    I do think it is fine to expect to be paid for something like this. After all, I voluntarily applied for my job. It has already been made clear that they are looking for unpaid volunteers. The work is only as valuable as people make it. If people are willing to do this for nothing other than the enjoyment of doing it, then the devs would be silly to pay for it. That's just business and that's between the devs and the volunteers. If you're not willing to accept the stated terms, then don't worry about it, and move on to enjoying the game how you want to enjoy it. If they don't get enough volunteers with the terms they have stated, then they may end up having to pay for playtesting, but I really don't see that as a likely scenario.
  • RezcaRezca United States Join Date: 2016-04-28 Member: 216078Members
    Thosar wrote: »
    Rezca wrote: »
    Ralij wrote: »
    It's self centered to want to be paid for work? Such innocence xD

    More accurately, they're saying it's self-centered to want to be paid for something you're volunteering to do, which is the case here. They're not hiring people which would entail being paid for your time, but asking for volunteers where you're giving up your time free of charge.

    I do think it is fine to expect to be paid for something like this. After all, I voluntarily applied for my job. It has already been made clear that they are looking for unpaid volunteers. The work is only as valuable as people make it. If people are willing to do this for nothing other than the enjoyment of doing it, then the devs would be silly to pay for it. That's just business and that's between the devs and the volunteers. If you're not willing to accept the stated terms, then don't worry about it, and move on to enjoying the game how you want to enjoy it. If they don't get enough volunteers with the terms they have stated, then they may end up having to pay for playtesting, but I really don't see that as a likely scenario.

    I was two thirds of the way through the form when I ended up backing out. Not because I didn't feel like helping out, but because I felt I wouldn't do an adequate enough job and essentially be worthless :/

  • bwc153bwc153 Shawnee, KS, US Join Date: 2016-02-29 Member: 213659Members
    edited November 2016
    Soul_Rider wrote: »
    Playtesting doesn't generally involve playing the game. It's a mis-nomer. It's a wide-ranging responsibility, trying to reproduce bugs, trying to reproduce bugs after fixes have been added, testing new objects getting implemented, sitting watching animations to make sure they are playing correctly... The list goes on.

    The vast majority of the time involves doing the same thing over and over again hundreds of times. It can certainly be fun, but the fun comes from the camaraderie, fun and banter had between the playtesters, rather than the playing of the game.
    This. I've heard paid playtesting positions have an extremely high turnover rate in the industry due to misconceptions about what will be done, and the monotonous of the position.

    Edited to clarify I am referring to a typical 9-5 QA position.
  • themaelstormthemaelstorm Germany Join Date: 2016-11-03 Member: 223623Members
    A few points.

    First, I love how everyone (and this is the interwebz) talks about how things should be.
    I'll throw a wild guess and say UWE knows a thing or two about game development, you know, being devs and having released games and all.
    But I'm sure YOU know it better!
    (Sorry, don't mean to be a dbag but can't help but be a bit sting-y here :P)

    1) Golden rule of QA: There is never enough QA.
    I'm sure they are testing stuff in house but "hiring one dedicated person" is not better than players. One person has a capacity of thought and imagination.
    There will be a lot more things going on with a group of people, a wide array of ideas on how to break the game! Not to mention the amount of testing doable by a group of people wouldn't be realistically handled by a dedicated person.

    2) Mindblowing facts: Volunteering: Not the same thing as a job!
    If you are looking for a job as a QA, either apply somewhere as a Jr or if you have experience in game QA... well I don't see you posting here in protest honestly, it's pretty much a industry standard and those who do not do it almost always either can't or they want to keep things hidden (for good or bad reasons).

    So the difference is that a job is a mutual agreement. Company pays you money, you dedicate time to fulfill a quality of service. If you don't show up or deliver the quality, no payment for you. You are obliged to do things.
    Volunteering on the other hand, works differently. The company will kindly ask for your help. They can't force you. You are obliged as much as you feel.

    3) It's actually win-win
    You possibly get to see new cool functions.
    You get to deliver feedback to devs, probably with a better connection.
    Devs get to have more insight on problems and overall how game works.
    Devs get to have more time to focus on fixing stuff/further QA.
    Devs get to have a better end product.
    You get to have a better end product.
    Other players get to have a better end product.
    EVERYONE GETS TO HAVE A BETTER END PRODUCT!
    Oprahmeme.jpg

    Again: You DON'T HAVE TO do it. They are not asking YOU to do it. They are asking if anyone's willing. That's all.
    They are a small company working on a game to make some bucks and entertain us.
    Give'em a break guys!
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